The Cookies You Should Think Twice About Before Sending In The Mail

Sending cookies in the mail is a time-honored way of telling someone you love them, miss them, or are concerned they're letting their sweet tooth go underfed. Whether it's for the holiday season, a birthday, or just to say hi, a well-designed box of cookies in the mail is a surefire way to brighten anyone's day, but a messy one can quickly turn joy into disappointment. The key to a perfectly curated, ready-for-travel box is choosing the right kind of cookie.

While fruit-filled butter cookies, whoopie pies, thumbprints, macarons, caramel shortbread squares, meltaways, or peppermint bark might be personal favorites of the recipient, cookies that are more sturdy than delicate or sticky tend to fare better in the mail, as they're less likely to make a mess, break, or stick to the tin itself. Cookies with a little chewiness to them are also preferable to brittle, inelastic treats that are sure to arrive mangled. 

Despite buttercream being a delicious ornament to any dessert, royal icing will hold up better in transit while keeping the interior of the box tidy and presentable. For those worried about the comparative lack of flavor in royal icing versus buttercream, a dash of vinegar is the secret to taking your icing to the next level.

Butter and shortbread cookies are timeless choices that can hold up through the wear and tear of interstate travel while also offering enough avenues for personalization to suit any occasion. Shortbread is different from many other cookie doughs because of its higher-than-usual fat-to-flour ratio, which creates a cookie that's firm but elastic enough to get to its destination intact. 

Gingerbread cookies are another fantastic choice – especially given their classic status during the holidays. Like butter cookies, gingerbread cookies offer a chance to express yourself creatively while delivering a delicious morsel from afar. It is also particularly suited to royal icing, as the spice of the cookie makes up for any wow factor the icing might lack.

While they may be slightly more intimidating, homemade chocolate truffles are a great way to impress anyone lucky enough to be on the receiving end of your cookie box, and they can be made with just two ingredients. If you are going to include truffles, make sure to either wrap them or use a box with dividers, so the powdered exterior doesn't get on your non-chocolate cookies. Cupcake liners are a great makeshift option to separate different goodies.